This Woman Operated on a Butterfly

A woman named Romy McCloskey spends her time raising Monarch butterflies, and depending on when they’re born, they can live from around two weeks to five months. But McCloskey was caught by surprise recently when one of her babies arrived needing a wing transplant.

Nothing to fear though, for McCloskey said, “I am a professional costume designer and master hand embroiderer,” so in other words, she was prepared. Using only “towel, wire hanger, contact cement, toothpick, cotton swab, scissors, tweezers, talc powder,” and an “extra butterfly wing,” she was set to operate.

And if you’re wondering: “But won’t the butterfly feel pain?? I’m pretty sure there’s no such thing as insect anesthesia!” Well, apparently there’s nothing to worry about at all, as one of the captions on McCloskey’s pictures reads, “securing the butterfly and cutting the damaged parts away. Don’t worry it doesn’t hurt them. It’s like cutting hair or trimming fingernails.”

Look at him all patched up!

After this was all finished, Romy shared, “with a quick lap around the yard and a little rest on a bush, he was off! A successful surgery and outcome! Bye, little buddy! Good luck.” Who would’ve thought we could successfully perform surgery on a butterfly?? We need more people in the world who are willing to donate their time to saving the life of something that might only be a brief two weeks short. This is like something out of a Disney film – can you not just imagine Cinderella and all her little animal buddies helping patch up a fellow creature in need?

Kudos to you Romy McCloskey! (And please keep sharing your cute butterfly babies for all of the internet to see)